Java

Set FTP Command and Directory-Listing Charsets

Demonstrates the CommandCharset and DirListingCharset properties, which control how non-ASCII text is encoded in commands (including remote paths and filenames) and how directory-listing responses are decoded.

Background: FTP predates Unicode, so servers vary in how they encode filenames; getting non-ASCII names right means matching the server's encoding on both sides. CommandCharset (default ANSI) governs outgoing paths and filenames, while DirListingCharset governs decoding of LIST/NLST/MLSD replies. Modern servers typically use UTF-8 — often negotiated automatically via OPTS UTF8 ON — but setting these explicitly resolves mojibake with servers that do not advertise it.

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import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.ChilkatException;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.Ftp2;

public class ChilkatExample {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Ftp2 ftp = new Ftp2();

        ftp.setHostname("ftp.example.com");
        ftp.setUsername("myFtpLogin");

        // CommandCharset is the encoding used for commands containing non-ASCII text, including remote
        // paths and filenames.  The default is ANSI; set utf-8 when the server uses UTF-8 filenames.
        ftp.setCommandCharset("utf-8");

        // DirListingCharset is used only to decode directory-listing responses (LIST, NLST, MLSD).  It
        // does not affect commands or paths.
        ftp.setDirListingCharset("utf-8");

        // Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
        // from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
        ftp.setPassword("myPassword");

        String listing;
        try {
            ftp.connect();

            // Non-ASCII remote paths and listings are now encoded/decoded as UTF-8.
            listing = ftp.getTextDirListing("");
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }

        System.out.println(listing);

        try {
            ftp.disconnect();
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }
    }
}